Josh Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joshua Anthony Frydenberg July 17, 1971 Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, investment banker |
| Years active | 1999–2022 (politics) |
| Known for | Treasurer of Australia (2018–2022), Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party (2018–2022) |
Joshua Anthony Frydenberg (; born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who held the positions of Treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia between 2018 and 2022. He served as the parliamentary representative for the Division of Kooyong from 2010 until 2022.
Prior to his political career, Frydenberg worked as an adviser to Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer during the Howard government, and was also employed by Deutsche Bank. After entering the House of Representatives in 2010, he swiftly advanced to the frontbench, occupying ministerial portfolios under both the Abbott government and Turnbull government, including roles as Minister for Resources and Minister for the Environment and Energy. Following a leadership challenge in 2018, Frydenberg was chosen as deputy leader of the Liberal Party alongside Scott Morrison, who then appointed him Treasurer.
In the 2022 federal election, Frydenberg was defeated by teal independent Monique Ryan, marking a historic moment as the first sitting treasurer to lose their seat since 1931. After leaving politics, he assumed the role of chairman for the Australian branch of investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Early life and education
Frydenberg was born in Melbourne. His mother, Erika Strausz, a psychologist and professor at the University of Melbourne, was a Jewish Hungarian refugee who arrived in Australia in 1950 after fleeing the Holocaust. His father Harry, a general surgeon, is also Jewish; his grandparents emigrated from Poland during the 1930s. His grandfather owned haberdashery shops in regional Victoria.
He attended Jewish educational institutions including Bialik College and Mount Scopus Memorial College. A passionate tennis player, Frydenberg once advocated for leaving high school early to pursue tennis professionally. Following secondary school, he took a gap year dedicated entirely to tennis, competing against prominent players and representing Australia at two editions of the World University Games. He and his father were present during the 1997 Maccabiah bridge collapse, where Frydenberg assisted in carrying an injured individual.
Frydenberg graduated with honours degrees in economics and law from Monash University, where he served as president of the Law Students Society. He was awarded both a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Yale University and a Commonwealth Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford, opting for Oxford to complete a Master of International Relations with a thesis focused on Indonesian politics. During his time there, he formed significant connections, including with future cabinet colleague Greg Hunt, who introduced him to the Liberal Party. At Oxford, he was mentored by former governor-general Sir Zelman Cowen.
Additionally, Frydenberg obtained a Master of Public Administration from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Among seven Liberal MPs in the 46th Parliament of Australia holding degrees from Oxbridge or Ivy League universities, Frydenberg's peers included figures such as Alan Tudge, Angus Taylor, and Greg Hunt.
Early career
In 1999, Frydenberg worked as an assistant adviser to Attorney-General Daryl Williams before moving on to advise Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer until 2003. Between 2003 and 2005, he served as a policy adviser to Prime Minister John Howard, concentrating on issues such as domestic security, border protection, justice, and industrial relations. In 2005, he took on the role of Director of Global Banking at the Melbourne branch of Deutsche Bank.
2006 preselection attempt
During 2006, Frydenberg pursued Liberal preselection for the Division of Kooyong, challenging the sitting member Petro Georgiou, who had held the seat since 1994. Despite receiving backing from Queensland frontbenchers Ian Macfarlane, Peter Dutton, and Santo Santoro, Georgiou won decisively with 62 out of 85 delegate votes, while Frydenberg garnered 22.
Following this setback, Treasurer and deputy Liberal leader Peter Costello encouraged Frydenberg to run for the nearby marginal seat of Division of Chisholm, then held by Labor's Anna Burke. Frydenberg declined, emphasizing his loyalty to Kooyong.
After Georgiou announced his retirement prior to the 2010 election, Frydenberg once again sought preselection for Kooyong. Supported by former Prime Minister John Howard, Opposition Leader Andrew Peacock, and ex-Liberal state president Michael Kroger, he secured preselection by defeating industrial lawyer John Pesutto, who would later lead the Victorian Liberal Party.
Member of Parliament
In the 2010 federal election, Frydenberg won the seat with a primary vote share of 52.56% and a two-party-preferred vote of 57.55%. He became only the fifth member to represent this historically safe non-Labor electorate in 88 years, previously held by Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister, Robert Menzies.
As the first Jewish Liberal elected to the House of Representatives, Frydenberg spoke about his family's migration from Nazi-occupied Europe and acknowledged the valuable contributions migrants have made within his constituency. His platform emphasized small government, strengthening relationships with Asia alongside maintaining a robust alliance with the United States, and setting an ambition for two Australian universities to rank among the globe’s top ten by 2030.
Frydenberg is aligned with the centre-right faction within the Liberal Party.
He has been subjected to antisemitic incidents, including vandalism of his campaign materials featuring Nazi imagery.
Abbott government
In the 2013 federal election, Frydenberg was re-elected with the largest swing toward the Liberal Party in Kooyong since 1975. On 18 September 2013, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with a focus on advancing deregulation policies. Subsequently, on 23 December 2014, in a ministerial reshuffle prompted by Arthur Sinodinos’ resignation amid delays in an ICAC investigation, Frydenberg was elevated to Assistant Treasurer.
Turnbull government
After Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister in September 2015, Frydenberg was named Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia in Turnbull’s first ministry. In February 2016, responsibility for Northern Australia was transferred to Nationals' Matt Canavan.
In 2015, Frydenberg publicly revised his position to endorse same-sex marriage. Following the Turnbull government's re-election in 2016, he was appointed Minister for the Environment and Energy in the second Turnbull ministry.
Parliamentary eligibility
After the 2016 Australian federal election, multiple members of parliament were declared ineligible under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia, which disallows dual citizenship. During the 2017-18 parliamentary eligibility crisis, questions emerged about Frydenberg’s status due to his mother’s refugee origins from Hungary and the possibility of citizenship by descent. Records from the National Archives of Australia revealed that his family initially arrived as stateless individuals but were later regarded as Hungarian nationals.
Within the Labor Party, opinions varied on whether to pursue this issue; figures such as Mark Dreyfus advocated for an inquiry, whereas others opposed it, emphasizing the delicate nature of stateless Jewish refugees. Following the 2019 election, Frydenberg was legally challenged by constituent Michael Staindl. In March 2020, the Federal Court of Australia determined Frydenberg was eligible to serve in parliament. He was awarded $410,000 in legal fees against Staindl, who paid $350,000. A settlement reached in 2022 prevented any further defamatory actions or additional payments from Staindl.
Morrison government
In August 2018, two leadership spills within the Liberal Party resulted in Treasurer Scott Morrison replacing Malcolm Turnbull as both party leader and prime minister. With Julie Bishop stepping down from the deputy leadership, Josh Frydenberg secured the position with 46 votes, defeating Trade Minister Steven Ciobo and Health Minister Greg Hunt. Subsequently, Morrison appointed Frydenberg as Treasurer.
During the 2019 federal election, Frydenberg retained his seat in Kooyong but with a diminished majority amid a strong challenge from Greens candidate Julian Burnside. The Liberal Party increased campaign expenditure in Kooyong from $500,000 to $1 million. Frydenberg experienced an 8.2% swing against him on primary votes and recorded the lowest Liberal vote share in Kooyong in nearly a century.
In July 2019, a petition contested Frydenberg’s eligibility based on alleged Hungarian citizenship. By November, confirmation came from the Hungarian government that neither he nor his mother held citizenship records. The High Court referred the matter to the Federal Court in December 2019. In March 2020, the Federal Court ruled that Frydenberg had never been a Hungarian citizen and was therefore qualified to sit in parliament.
Leading up to the 2022 election, Frydenberg’s marginal seat in Kooyong faced a formidable challenge from independent candidate Monique Ryan, associated with the "teal independent" movement. On 21 May, Frydenberg conceded defeat to Ryan, marking the first time since 1901 that Kooyong was not held by the Liberal Party or its antecedents.
Frydenberg maintained a close professional rapport with Morrison, frequently staying overnight at Kirribilli House and The Lodge during parliamentary sessions rather than opting for private lodging.
Treasurer of Australia
Frydenberg presented his inaugural federal budget in April 2019.
Life after politics
In July 2022, Frydenberg took on the role of senior regional advisor for the Asia Pacific at investment bank Goldman Sachs. By September 2023, he advanced to become chairman of Goldman Sachs’ operations in Australia and New Zealand, a position that led him to confirm he would not seek re-election for Kooyong in 2025.
After a preliminary redistribution draft for Kooyong emerged, there was media conjecture about Frydenberg pursuing preselection. Nevertheless, with Amelia Hamer already chosen as the Liberal Party candidate, Frydenberg affirmed his decision not to contest the upcoming election.
In May 2024, Frydenberg hosted the Sky News documentary Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism, which focused on the increasing concerns surrounding antisemitism.
Personal life
Frydenberg is married and has two children. He is an avid supporter of the Carlton Football Club and held the title of its number-one ticket holder in both 2021 and 2022. Additionally, in 2019, he was recognized as the number-one ticket holder for the Melbourne Storm.